Reflections from ISERAS 2026: BlueRoom in Hong Kong

A symposium built around collaboration

Last month we had the privilege of attending the inaugural International Symposium on Emergency Response and Aeromedical Services (ISERAS) in Hong Kong as a guest of the Government Flying Service (GFS). Held from 16 to 18 June at Kai Tak Sports Park, ISERAS brought together more than 230 policymakers, clinicians, academics and industry representatives from over 70 organisations across Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

It was a genuinely special few days, and a reminder of how quickly the aeromedical and emergency-response community is coming together across borders to face shared challenges.

Opening the ceremony, the Under Secretary for Security, Mr Michael Cheuk, spoke to a theme that ran through the whole event: the challenges of emergency response are evolving at an unprecedented pace as the realities of climate change take hold. His call was for a shift toward proactive prevention, deeper international and cross-regional collaboration, and more open sharing of experience between stakeholders, so that, in his words, the collaborative spirit of ISERAS will forge stronger partnerships and secure a safer future for communities.

The Controller of GFS, Mr Eddie Liu, reflected on the service's role at the forefront of round-the-clock search-and-rescue and emergency aeromedical operations since 1993, and on the symposium's aim of building a truly transnational pool of professional expertise. A keynote from Mr Wang Lei, Director General of the Rescue and Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, explored air-rescue capability and strategic development in the South China Sea.

Across the three days, plenary sessions and panels tackled interagency collaboration for unified disaster response, the role of aeromedical services in disaster risk management, and — the topic closest to our own work, enhancing aeromedical services through advanced technology and innovation. The symposium closed with an interdepartmental counter-terrorism drill involving the GFS, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Hong Kong Fire Services Department.

Why it mattered to us

Aeromedical evacuation, HEMS and search-and-rescue are at the heart of what BlueRoom exists to support. When the conversation turns to enhancing aeromedical services through advanced technology and innovation, that is precisely the room we want to be in. Our mixed-reality simulator lets crews train aeromedical, winch, TCCC and mass-casualty scenarios using their real hands, real equipment and real manikins inside photorealistic environments, no controllers, trained exactly as they operate.

It was also a proud moment for the Australian aeromedical community: among the memoranda of understanding signed at the event, GFS formalised co-operation with LifeFlight of Australia, alongside the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine and OutReach Rescue of the United Kingdom. Seeing Australian expertise recognised on this stage underlines just how connected our region's emergency-response network has become.

Looking ahead

Hong Kong's ambition to serve as an aviation hub for emergency response in Asia is exactly the kind of vision that excites us. As the region invests in faster, safer and better-prepared crews, immersive training has a real part to play, and we look forward to supporting that mission alongside the remarkable teams we met in Hong Kong.

Our sincere thanks to the Government Flying Service for the invitation and the warm welcome.

Want to see BlueRoom in action? Explore our mixed-reality training at blueroomxr.com, watch a 2-minute overview, or book a demo.